2016 Summer Reading

Summer’s finally here. Time to settle in and read a good book. If you’re not sure what to read, our guests on Wednesday’s show likely have at least one suggestion that’ll pique your interest. Local booksellers Catherine Weller, Ken Sanders, and Betsy Burton have a combined century of experience in the business, so they know how to pair a reader with the right book. They’ll join Doug to talk about their top picks of the season for readers of all tastes and ages.

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Monday, the writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee is our guest. He’s written a new book that tells the epic tale of our quest to unravel the human genome. It’s the story of a long lineage of scientists—from Mendel, to Darwin, Watson, Crick, and countless others—and their efforts to understand the workings of the very threads of our existence. But how, Mukherjee wonders, can we best apply that knowledge? And what does it mean to be human when we can read and write our own genetic information?

From <a href="http://ansleywest.com/">Ansley West Rivers</a>' photo series "Lunar Traces"

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Wednesday, writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams joins Doug to discuss her latest book, The Hour of Land. It’s a paean to America’s natural parks. The parks are, Williams says, fundamental to our national identity, despite our complicated relationship with them. To mark the centennial of the National Parks Service, Williams visited 12 national parks. She wanted to better understand their relevance in the 21st century. She also wondered if they might serve to help unite our fractured country.

When you think about military science, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Bombs and guns, right? Well, that’s not what interests the writer Mary Roach, who has a habit of seeking out eccentric scientific corners. She’s not so much curious about the killing as she is about the keeping alive. That curiosity led her to research into the battlefield’s more obscure threats: exhaustion, shock, bacteria, panic, even turkey vultures. Roach joins us Tuesday to explore the curious science of humans at war.

Helen Macdonald has always been obsessed with birds of prey. As a child, she even tried to sleep with her arms tucked behind her back like wings. In her critically acclaimed memoir, Macdonald recounts her attempts to cope with the sudden death of her father by fully embracing her love of raptors and training a ferocious hawk. So, it’s nature writing, but also a tale of grief. Macdonald is in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, and she joins us to explain how a bird gave her new perspective on life.

When it set sail from New York on May 1, 1915, the Lusitania bore a full manifest of passengers and the ingenuity and hubris of its era. It was immense and luxurious, the fastest civilian ship in service. It was also under threat. The Germans declared that British ships sailed “at their own risk,” a risk the Lusitania’s operators perilously defied. They claimed theirs was the safest ship at sea. Tuesday, the writer Erik Larson joins us to recount the disastrous tale of the Lusitania’s last crossing.

Thursday we’re asking what it would take to get you out of your car. Urban planner Tim Sullivan says the West was built around the ideas of freedom, opportunity and adventure. Although the car helped get us there, Sullivan argues the car is now threatening the things we love about our region. He and others join Doug to talk about our attitude towards the automobile and the obstacles and opportunities for walking, biking and taking the train on the Wasatch Front.